Open
by mecherry
Summary: The 19 year gap until the epilogue is an untold story. What if things were different? Circumstances change, new threats and mysteries arise...what else can change, then? Love? Little did everyone know, the adventures were just beginning. Eventual Harry/Hermione
1. Aftermath

a/n~ This story begins right at the end of the 7th book - with the Trio in Dumbledore's office after having slipped away from the celebrations, and Dumbledore having just congratulated Harry on not using the Elder Wand or the Stone.

* * *

Chapter One

Aftermath

Harry turned and glanced at the other two. "I suppose we have to go back down now, don't we?"

Much as Hermione wanted to say "No", she knew they had to, and glancing at Ron's face she could tell he was also thinking the same thing. That all three of them were thinking the same thing. The celebrations, wild as they were right now, would soon start to die down. People would start swarming the Hogwarts grounds, more than were already here. Hospital Wing visits had to be made. The mourning and funerals would begin.

Fred. Colin Creevey. Lupin and Tonks.

Hermione felt her stomach clench. Though everyone had fought long into the night and morning had arrived, she wasn't sure when she would sleep next. Her body was still running on adrenaline and so far, she had no desire to sleep. She also had no desire to face what was downstairs.

She knew it would be worse for Ron. She glanced at him, and his mouth was a hard line. She had to try and remember this, to be there for him and for Harry, who would be bothered by so many people in the next few days. She knew her position in this didn't compare with theirs.

"Yes," she nodded, trying to look very sure and taking both of their hands.

They both nodded as well, looking a bit resigned, and the three of them made their way out of Dumbledore's office and down the familiar spiral staircase that led there. The rest of the castle, however, was still unfamiliar and damaged so badly it was hardly recognizable. All three tried to ignore it the best they could until they arrived in the much more intact Great Hall.

Sure enough, people were looking left and right for Harry and upon seeing him, smiled and waved, and started making their way towards him.

Ron was looking endearingly towards the table where his family was sitting; Ginny with her head still on Mrs. Weasley's shoulder, both of their eyes rimmed with red. Mr. Weasley with his arm around Percy. Charlie was staring unseeingly at his plate. Bill and Fleur were clutching each other. Hermione's stomach dropped unpleasantly when she noticed that George had already left the Great Hall.

"Go," she said to him gently. "Harry and I will distract the reporters and be there in a minute." She kissed his cheek. Nodding blankly, Ron slowly made his way to where his family was sitting.

Of course, Harry and Hermione tried to follow, but were soon surrounded and being jostled by about ten reporters. Hermione had thought the worst would be for Harry; she had expected some questions for her, but they were desperately asking her just as many as they were asking Harry. She couldn't hear what they were asking him over her own rapid-fire questions.

"Is it true you have been Harry Potter's best friend for the past seven years?"

"What would you say was your biggest obstacle in being Harry Potter's best friend?"

"How did the three of you manage to stay hidden when everyone in the country was looking for you?"

She had no idea what to say, or whether she should say anything at all. "I-I-" she stuttered, but before they could push her any farther, a booming voice came from behind them, and she jumped.

"Now, now," Kingsley was saying. "Let's let the two go sit down, shall we? Besides, you will have plenty to report, I'm about to make a speech."

He looked so intimidating that the reporters quailed and seemed to melt away a little bit, and Harry and Hermione threw Kingsley a look of gratitude and hurried off towards the Weasley table. "Thank goodness," Hermione whispered to Harry.

"I know," said Harry.

Upon reaching the table, Harry went directly to Ginny and put his arms around her. Hermione slid in next to Ron and squeezed his hand, though no one really knew what to say. The talking and laughter was starting to die down; people were beginning to realize that the next few months would be long and painful, for almost everyone had lost either family or a close friend.

The Great Hall came to a near hush when Kingsley started making his way towards the front of the room. "Hello everyone," he said. "I wanted to give you an update from the Auror department, and then we can all possibly form a plan about what to do next."

There were general nods of agreement - nobody knew quite what to do next.

"First, the Auror department at the Ministry and various others are still working hard to capture the remaining Death Eaters that fled the castle. There weren't many, and we have rounded up most of them by now. Trials will be held in a few weeks, after everyone has had time to mourn their losses."

There was a long silence, and Hermione noticed Mrs. Weasley silently start to sob.

"The grounds will also continue to be scoured all day for anyone fallen. The reparations of the castle can also begin later. We can create jobs and crews to begin that. But for now, as the dormitories are intact, I think the best thing to do is for everyone to take a nap, and get some sleep. Perhaps we can meet back here late this afternoon, if it suits everyone, and we can further discuss everything then as well."

Kingsley looked around the room, and people were nodding, agreeing. Some people were already standing up and leaving the Great Hall. "Let's say 6 p.m then, for those that want to start making arrangements for their loved ones, or those that want to help with those things. Please spread the word for anyone else you would like to be here. All family is welcome. Thank you," he finished, humbly, and stepped down from the podium.

"Kingsley is in favor to become the Minister of Magic," Hermione heard Mr. Weasley tell Harry.

"That's good," Harry said, nodding.

The Weasley family was standing up, preparing to go back to their homes and sleep before coming back that night. Hermione caught a glimpse of the Malfoy family hurrying out of the Great Hall, looking quite distressed. Then she, Harry, Ron, and Ginny began the trek up to their dormitories. Suddenly, the idea of her bed was so wonderful. Nothing had ever sounded better.

Slowly but surely, they arrived. The boys gave them small smiles before heading up to their respective dormitory, and Ginny and Hermione started walking up the stairs to theirs. "How are you, Gin?" Hermione finally asked, breaking a long silence.

"I'm just fine," Ginny shrugged.

Hermione dropped the subject. She knew that Ginny wouldn't be fine for long, and after some time might be ready to discuss it.

Crookshanks was already curled on her pillow when they got there, as if he had been sleeping there through the Final Battle all along. "Goodnight," Ginny mumbled from across the room, sliding into her bed.

"Goodnight," Hermione replied, also getting in and putting her arms around Crookshanks, who purred and snuggled into her neck.

She had thought falling asleep would be difficult, that there would be too much on her mind. But right now it was all fuzzy, and her brain was starting to shut down from lack of sleep. She knew that it would all hit much harder tomorrow. That knowledge still didn't stop the sleep or the black from closing in around her eyelids, and soon she was sleeping soundly.

* * *

Hermione woke to a pleasant evening sunlight spreading across her face.

Contentment stole over her in waves so powerful that for a moment she forgot where she was and all of her troubles. But when she opened her eyes and recognized the hangings of her four poster bed above her, everything came rushing back from the previous night. She groaned and willed the happiness to come back.

It didn't.

She flipped her legs over the edge of the bed and glanced around. The girls' dormitory was completely empty, so Ginny must have already gone down.

She had no idea what time it was, or where everyone was. It was a strange feeling, and she hoped she hadn't missed the meeting planned.

While she had plenty to be happy about - Voldemort being finished for good - her mind hadn't caught up with the mix of happiness and grief quite yet. It still felt so jumbled. She especially was worried about Ron. The few minutes she had with him he had barely spoken, but otherwise seemed normal.

Then again, everyone had been so tired. She hoped the boys were both able to get their rest.

Hermione went into the bathroom, turned on the hot water, and slipped off her clothes, more to put off the moment when she had to find out what was going on than anything else. This odd feeling of isolation was wonderful. She stood in the shower and let the hot water run over her aching muscles.

She pondered Harry's words as he had explained the entire story to them earlier that morning - what he had seen in the Pensieve, the events in the forest, and his strange encounter with Albus Dumbledore, apparently in his own mind.

Of course, she had expected nothing different of him - it _was_ Harry after all - but to actually walk to his own destruction? To truly believe that he needed to die, that he would never, ever be coming back? And he had never even said goodbye. What if he _hadn't_ been able to come back?

The thought haunted her. Over and over, in her dreams just now, she had seen the Death Eaters marching out of the forest, Hagrid carrying Harry, felt the cold shock and absolute heart-stopping truth that her best friend was dead...wishing _she_ were dead...in fact, she doubted very much that she would ever stop seeing these images, even during waking hours, especially now that her brain was less tired and could dwell on those things.

She hadn't told him how much it affected her, of course. Not that any of them had much time to discuss anything else much yet anyway.

She turned off the water and stepped out, drying off quickly and putting her clothes back on. She stepped in front of the mirror and yanked a brush through her curls, and examined the cuts on her face. Madame Pomfrey, who had made some rounds at the tables, had assured her that even the nastiest ones would be gone within the next week, and Hermione was very thankful she wouldn't have any lasting physical scars.

After she had deemed herself presentable she stepped out of the girls' dormitory, and without hesitation, proceeded up the boys' staircase. It would be much easier to face going downstairs with one of them, rather than alone.

Her eyes scanned quickly, and she found Ron's bed empty, which was either a good sign or an ominous one, but Harry was still sleeping. She stepped forward and watched him, desperately wanting to wake him. He looked so utterly peaceful right now, something she rarely saw on his face. Even when he was sleeping, she noticed that his face seemed set in permanent lines of worry.

She sighed and touched his black hair lightly, smoothing it back so she could see his scar. She hated to wake him, but she knew he wouldn't want to miss anything. "Harry," she whispered, shaking him a bit.

His eyes flew open as if burned, with a slight gasp. "It's all right, it's just me," she soothed, patting his hair.

He sat up and rubbed his eyes. "Yeah...yeah..." he trailed off and shuddered a little bit, then looked back at her. "What have I missed?"

"I hope nothing yet," she replied. "Come on, let's go down."

They climbed through the portrait hole and continued down the staircase, and Hermione found herself noticing how quiet the castle was; it was very rare not to hear a single noise as they walked down to the Great Hall, and quite disconcerting. It increased her sense of foreboding.

They glanced at each other right before entering the Great Hall. Harry sighed. "Shall we?" he asked.

She nodded simply and took his hand. "Let's go."


	2. Heroes and Decisions

a/n~ Well for those of you that are here...again, a giant THANK YOU! I do apologize for the restart but I also feel like it's my decision and all, soo I guess if you liked the story that much you will be able to roll with it :P

I also forgot this disclaimer the first chapter - anything you recognize belongs to Harry Potter, or later in the story, Lost. I do not make money from this unfortunately but I do love it very much ;) Please review, I would love you so.

* * *

"Grief does not change you, Hazel. It reveals you."  
― John Green, The Fault in Our Stars

* * *

Chapter Two

Heroes and Decisions

When they opened the doors, everyone looked over at the sound.

Actually, the Great Hall was quite empty. The reporters were absent, for which Hermione was grateful and judging from Harry's face, so was he. There were only a few families with their Hogwarts student. Hermione had been worried she would be late, but it looked like they were early.

She noticed the Weasleys first, of course - the Lovegoods were sitting at the same table. Ginny gave her a small, sad smile and looked back down at the table. Percy did not meet anyone's eyes, but was instead staring at the opposite wall unseeingly. George and Mr. Weasley were still both nowhere to be seen, but Bill was sitting solemnly with Fleur, also not bothering to eat.

And - her eyes sought him out - Ron was sitting in between Mrs. Weasley and Ginny, looking very forlorn, much more so than before. However, he looked up at her entrance and his eyes plainly told her he wanted her to join him, so she made her way over. Before she got to her seat, Mrs. Weasley stood up from the table and hugged her and Harry.

"Hermione, dear," she said kindly, leaning back and looking at her. Hermione noticed that her eyes were very red. "I'm so glad you are all right. Did you sleep well?"

Hermione nodded convincingly, not wanting to tell her about the dreams. "Good, dear." Hermione smiled at her warmly. "Thanks, Mrs. Weasley."

Mrs. Weasley started to say something to Harry, but she was already sitting by Ron, looking at his freckled face and trying to get his blue eyes to look back into hers. "Hey," she said to Ron.

"Hey," he replied quietly.

"How do you feel?" she asked tentatively.

He shrugged. "Good as can be, I guess." His voice was empty.

She patted his shoulder and he gave her a very small smile before they both went back to their food. There was nothing else to say, really. Hermione could think of no real words of wisdom - she knew such things like "It's all right," and "He died for a good cause," would bring no comfort to Ron, and she hated feeling helpless, especially when she felt like she was about to break down herself.

It was only a few minutes later when Professor McGonagall came along the table and beckoned to Hermione, Ron, and Harry. Glancing at each other, the three got up and followed her. She led them all the way up to the spiral staircase that was Dumbledore's office. Surprised, they followed her to the very top and settled in the chair across from the previous Headmaster's desk.

"How are you all feeling?" Professor McGonagall asked briskly.

Ron mumbled a response and Hermione said, "Good, thank you." Harry didn't bother to say anything, but stared at Professor McGonagall avidly, waiting.

She watched them carefully for a moment before continuing. "I just wanted to let you three know that the invitation is extended for you to come back to Hogwarts even though you are all a year older. If you want your N.E.W.T's, you are welcome to remain behind for seventh year."

Hermione glanced at them. Harry was quite expressionless, but distaste was written all over Ron's face, but Hermione was wondering what the best option was for her future. "What do you suggest, Professor?" Hermione asked.

"To be honest," Professor McGonagall said, "you three will never have a problem finding a job after what you have just accomplished, even without your N.E.W.T's. You probably do not need them. I just wanted to extend the offer."

Ron was already shaking his head, and Hermione was slowly shaking hers as well. "I don't know yet, Professor," she said honestly, glancing at Ron again. "But probably not for me, and I doubt Harry and Ron will want to either."

"Not me," Ron filled in too, sounding very sure.

"I don't think me either," said Harry.

Professor McGonagall nodded. "I figured you wouldn't, Mr. Weasley. And you as well, Mr. Potter. As for you Miss Granger, I wasn't entirely sure, but it is up to you of course. If any of you change your mind, you may always just write." They nodded at her.

"Don't forget, Minerva..."

Hermione and Ron both jumped and stared at Dumbledore, who was smiling serenely at them in his portrait from directly behind the desk. His words had a meaningful edge to them, and Professor McGonagall seemed to remember something. "Of course," she said. "Mr. Weasley, may I ask you to go and get your sister?"

Ron's face was shocked. "Ginny?"

"Yes. You and Mr. Potter just send her up, please. And I will send Mrs. Granger down to breakfast when she is through as well."

Harry and Ron seemed to hesitate, both frowning in curiosity but they recognized the dismissal. "Sure," he said, giving Hermione one last bewildered look before they both exited the room. Hermione waited for Professor McGonagall to speak, feeling exceptionally nervous. What was this all about?

* * *

Ginny couldn't believe Fred was gone.

All that she felt right now was an overwhelming sense of numbness and loss. She couldn't imagine how George must be feeling - or her parents. To lose a twin? It would be like losing half of yourself, the most detrimental loss of them all. And to lose your child?

But at least Mrs. Weasley had gotten to kill Bellatrix. Ginny would have done anything to be able to claim that kill, to have been able to avenge her brother.

And then her mind began on Lupin and Tonks and Ginny honestly didn't know why she was bothering to stay awake. She was so tired, but she did not want to sleep. She felt like she needed to be with her family during this critical period, even though sleeping would be bliss.

Voldemort was gone, and they died for a good cause, but the happiness was too overshadowed with loss to feel any joy. She doubted somehow that she would ever feel joy again.

She picked at her food, and felt a tap on the shoulder. It was Ron. Harry was already sitting down in his spot on the bench. "Do you remember where Dumbledore's office is?" Ron asked her.

Frowning at his strange question, she said, "Yes. Why?"

"Professor McGonagall wanted to talk to you and Hermione. She wanted me to send you up there."

"Hermione and I?" Ginny asked, confused. "What is this about?"

"No idea," he said, shrugging.

Ginny realized that she was in fact desperate for something to do, to keep her mind off her troubles, so she got up from the table, whispered to her mother that she would be right back, and made her way to the spiral staircase with the gargoyles.

Hermione came out of the door just as she reached it, clutching a small brown package in her hand and frowning a little.

"Hey Hermione," she greeted. "What did Professor McGonagall want?"

"I'm not quite sure," Hermione admitted. "She just wanted to give me whatever is in this." Ginny glanced down at the little package, but couldn't guess what was possibly in it, and apparently, Hermione couldn't either. Hermione shrugged and gave her a small smile. "Well, see you later, then."

"See you," Ginny said distractedly, and as Hermione went down the staircase, Ginny knocked on the door.

"Enter," Professor McGonagall's voice said, and Ginny did so to find the Professor standing behind the desk and looking at her. "How are you, Miss Weasley?" she asked kindly.

"Fine," Ginny said.

"You must be wondering why I brought you here," Professor McGonagall said. "Professor Dumbledore has recently requested that you be given something of his." She gestured to his portrait, which was listening intently, but beaming at her. Ginny gave him a small smile before focusing her attention back on Professor McGonagall. "Would you care to explain, Albus?" Professor McGonagall asked.

"There isn't much to explain, Minerva, but certainly," he said, still smiling. "It is my wish, Miss Weasley, that you take my Pensieve."

Ginny stopped her jaw from dropping, but just barely. She had heard all about Pensieves from her father, but from her understanding, they were very expensive and quite difficult to come by. In fact, she didn't know of anyone else that had ever owned a Pensieve. To add on to this, she could not understand why Dumbledore was bestowing this fabulous gift upon her, and not Hermione, Ron, or Harry.

"M-me?" she whispered. "But why me?"

"Oh I daresay you will find the use for it in due course, if not for a while," Dumbledore said cheerfully. "But I can promise you that it will come in handy."

"Thank you, Professor," she said, trying to convey all her gratitude into her words. though she was still very shocked. "Thank you very much."

"Of course," he said kindly.

Professor McGonagall stepped forward and handed her the basin, which was empty and without any swirling memories. "I think that is all, Miss Weasley. I shall see you back at Hogwarts for your seventh year in the fall."

"Yes," Ginny said, nodding. "Goodbye." She waved to Dumbledore's portrait, gave them both one more smile, and with the Pensieve in hand, left the office.

* * *

"So," Kingsley was saying, "The trials will be held over the next few weeks. Azkaban will see that the dementors are no longer it's guardians - the creatures are too volatile and Dark. It has been decided that Professor McGonagall will take over as Headmistress of Hogwarts next year. We have successfully organized clean up teams for the castle and the grounds, and the castle will close to the public tomorrow afternoon."

Everyone listening was nodding in agreement to the summary of his speech. Kingsley sighed, and said slowly, "I have something else I need to say. Mr. Potter has put in a special request that I make this very clear."

Everyone at the table turned and looked at Harry, shocked, who didn't look away from Kingsley.

Kingsley continued. "We specifically went to the Shrieking Shack to recover the body of Professor Severus Snape. He has been buried here on the Hogwarts grounds, and a funeral will be held separately. However..." He sighed again. "It is very important, especially to Mr. Potter, that we all know the circumstances of his death. Severus Snape killed Albus Dumbledore about a year ago, and was previously believed to be a spy for Lord Voldemort, a Death Eater."

There was a collective hush around the Hall.

"But this is not the case. Severus Snape was always Dumbledore's man. He was a spy for us at great personal risk. Dumbledore's death was planned between them, as Albus was already dying. Severus Snape was murdered by Nagini, Lord Voldemort's snake. Mr. Potter acquired from memories from Severus. He will always be remembered as a hero."

Someone, somewhere, raised their goblet. And soon everyone in the hall had raised their goblets and murmured, "Severus Snape," in one rumble. Hermione glanced at Harry. He was looking determinedly at the table.

It was a quiet sort of dinner. No one wanted to talk about what would happen next, because the reality was depressing. Funerals. Trials. Lots and lots of both of those things. Plus, Hermione still had to decide whether or not to return to Hogwarts. Part of the castle was calling her back - she couldn't resist more education. But without Harry and Ron, she would feel awfully empty.

Luna Lovegood was the only person that seemed relatively cheerful, talking about perhaps trying her hand at writing for the Quibbler - "besides, I would have lots of opportunity to write about Crumple-Horned Snorkacks" - and everyone encouraged her and hid their smiles.

Eventually, everyone started to go to bed. Hermione still had not seen George. But the rest of the Weasley family was getting up, starting to get ready to go. "Have you seen George?" she finally whispered to Ron, a little worried.

"No," Ron answered sadly. "Mum and Dad have. He's not really coming out of his and Fred's old room."

The older Weasleys gave hugs all around - Ron and Ginny decided to stay at the castle one more night before going back to the Burrow. They all made their way up the staircase. On the way, Hermione murmured to Harry, "That was really nice, what you said about Snape, Harry."

He glanced at her and shrugged. "Yeah...well he was a hero, wasn't he? I didn't want people to think badly of him. Not when he died like that."

He sounded casual, but his eyes were far away. Hermione wondered how much it was really affecting him, knowing that Snape loved Lily all along, and had protected Harry because of it. He did not show being torn up about Snape's death, but really...Hermione had other suspicions.

They were the only ones in the Gryffindor Common Room that night. Everyone else had already left. They went their separate ways, the girls to their dormitories and the boys to theirs. Put on their nightclothes without a word. Settled into bed. Crookshanks was there - Hermione put more food in his bowl. He purred at her for a moment, then hopped over to Ginny's bed.

He gave her a look and Hermione could have sworn he was saying - "She really needs this now."

Before she could feel betrayed by her cat, her mind agreed. Ginny was looking surprised. "Oh, Crookshanks." Crookshanks purred and snuggled under Ginny's chin. "Goodnight," Ginny mumbled, and fell asleep holding the cat, with the first somewhat contented smile on her face that Hermione had seen.

And it was then, as she was drifting off to sleep, that she knew she would return to Hogwarts for Ginny.


	3. Artifacts and New Starts

a/n~ Firstly, to name those that have reviewed so far and give a giant, endless thank you: **lozipozivanillabean, AllWasWell07** (multiple), **SarahHJP, Man Of Constant Sorrow** (Multiple), **redstarpuppy, chicken legs, AlphaQ69**, and **mochabanana**.

To my readers that didn't read the old one, another welcome! To those who read Decode I again thank you for your consistent support. On with the chapter!

* * *

"The sun loved the moon so much,  
He died every night to let her breathe."  
-Unknown

* * *

Chapter Three

Artifacts and New Starts

Hermione sat in her dorm, fingering the brown paper on the object that Professor McGonagall had given her. The morning sunlight was falling into the dorm. She had woken up with Ginny gone and Crookshanks resuming his place in her own bed, but even he was still sleeping.

She hadn't had time to hurry straight up here to examine this yet, even though she was morbidly curious.

Because while Dumbledore's portrait had not offered much information about what it was, he had been very firm on one point: _Do not show Harry or Ron._

Which, to say the least, now that she was supposed to open it, made her a bit nervous.

But just as she had gotten up the nerve and was about to rip off the paper, she heard Ginny's voice calling up the steps, "Hermione! Where are you?"

"Up here, Ginny!" She hurriedly stuffed the brown package out of sight in her knapsack and waited.

"A bunch of the Order is here...want to come see everybody?"

The honest answer was 'no', but Hermione didn't have the heart to give it. "Sure," she called down, and went down the staircase to see the redhead waiting for her in the Common Room.

"What did you get?" Ginny demanded immediately.

Hermione hesitated. "I'm not sure yet," she admitted. "I haven't opened it."

Ginny frowned. "What? Why not?"

"I was just about to when you called me."

"Well, I am terribly curious and normally I would insist that you open it now - " Ginny grinned at her "-but I want to be getting downstairs right away." The redhead grabbed Hermione's hand and pulled her out of the room, and Hermione couldn't suppress a chuckle at her energy even in light of all the recent events.

"Why in such a hurry, Gin?"

"Harry," Ginny said simply.

Hermione supposed that made sense. They hadn't seen each other in so long or had any time together. She wondered if and when they would talk. It wasn't a question of getting back together, really, she decided. Just the question of when.

And then her mind foresaw a great danger and she tugged on Ginny's arm to stop her. "Ginny." Ginny continued to pull her along, but Hermione yanked her back. "Ginny, listen!"

"What?" Ginny asked impatiently, her eyes still down the hall.

"You can't tell Harry or Ron about me getting something from Dumbledore's office."

Ginny finally turned to look at her, fixing her with her big, brown eyes. She was quiet for a moment, a frown slowly spreading across her face. "Why not?" she asked finally.

"Promise you won't say a word," Hermione said firmly.

Ginny held up her hands. "Promise."

"Because Dumbledore made me swear I wouldn't tell them what it is."

Ginny's frown became deeper, more pronounced. "Just them?"

"Yes," Hermione said. "Just them."

After a long silence, Ginny said excitedly, "Now I _really_ want to know what it is! He didn't say anything about me, right?"

"Well...no."

"So you can open it with me?"

Hermione sighed. "Yes, I suppose so."

Ginny grinned. "Excellent. I won't say a word." She began to walk again, but turned and said over her shoulder, with another devilish grin, "Oh, and he gave me his Pensieve by the way."

Hermione snatched her back again. _"What?"_

"I know. Weird, right?"

"What for?"

Ginny shrugged, though she did look very bothered. "Not sure. He just said I would find it useful." Hermione didn't have any suggestions either, and after a minute the girls remembered they were standing still and they wanted to get down into the Great Hall.

Upon arrival, they found that it was empty. Worried, they headed outside to the grounds and gasped at what they saw. Reporters, again. And lots of them. Members of the Order were mixed about here and there, looking very uncomfortable. Hermione rounded on Ginny. "Were they all here before?"

"No," she said, gaping with her mouth open wide. "It was just the Order. Come on, let's go, before they see you - "

Before they could go anywhere, a reporter grabbed both of them, firing questions at both of them.

"I-I'm sorry, I have to - " she stuttered, pushing her way through the crowd of them. They followed her relentlessly, shouting questions at her, she felt like she was in a mob - until suddenly, they disappeared. Disconcerted, she looked to see where they had gone, and saw the whole lot of them sprinting across the grounds, to where Harry was trudging back from wherever he had been. It would have been comical if she weren't a little worried for Harry's safety - all of them trying to hurry as fast as they could with their cameras and quills.

However, before the reporters reached him, Harry was overtaken by Kingsley. They were deep in conversation when the reporters reached them both, and Kingsley said a few words to them - Hermione couldn't catch what he said - and waved them off. Looking disgruntled, they began to go pack towards the path of the village Hogsmeade. Kingsley and Harry were still talking, very serious looks on their faces.

Hermione took an involuntary step forward, wondering what was going on and where Harry had just been. She distantly heard Ginny say from behind her, "I think this isn't the best time for me to talk to him. I'll wait. I need to talk to him when it's just me and him. I'm going to find my parents, Hermione."

Hermione barely heard her, but she turned and gave her a quick smile before heading over to where Harry was.

Harry saw her approaching before she had reached him and Kingsley. He said one final thing to Kingsley, who nodded and began to hurry in the direction of the Great Hall, where everyone else was now heading as well.

His eyes were the same as ever, the lovely shade of emerald green, but they held an aged quality of someone much older than seventeen, someone who had previously been through a lot of turmoil. His hair was untidy as always too, his face filled with more cuts than hers, but he was walking normally, and Hermione was glad to see he was otherwise not hurt badly.

She smiled at him as she approached. "You dodged the reporters this time."

He grinned as well. "I take it you didn't?"

"I wasn't quite as lucky," she said dryly.

He laughed. "What did they ask you?"

"Oh, all questions about you, naturally. I didn't answer anything."

"Thanks." They stared at each other for a long moment. "Is everyone inside?" he asked finally.

"Yes. Haven't you seen them all already?" she asked, bewildered.

"No, I came out under my Invisibility Cloak. I didn't see you, or I would have come out. And Ron was with his family. I had something I needed to do first."

"What was that?" she asked gently.

"I had to put the Elder Wand back with Dumbledore," he said in a low voice.

"Harry," she said reproachfully, "you should have let me come with you."

"Don't worry," he said quietly. "It's done now."

Without realizing it, they had begun their familiar walk around the lake, the walk they had taken so many times during fourth year. It felt odd, to remember that time with so much woe and misery, and to think of the root of all that misery. Now, it seemed like there was just as much, even though it should be over. Harry seemed to be thinking along the same lines.

"How are they today?" he asked, his voice sounding strangled. "The Weasleys?"

Hermione shrugged, trying to keep her voice light. "They seem all right."

"And you?" he asked, sounding concerned. "Did you sleep all right?"

"I slept for a long time," she said, avoiding lying directly so she didn't have to tell him about the dreams. "What about you?"

He shrugged. "So-so." He was quiet for a moment. "And Ron? Have you talked to him much?"

"A little bit. You didn't see anybody else on your way out to Dumbledore's grave?"

"I think everyone else was in the Hall and I didn't want to stop and talk yet. But now I can go see everybody." His voice did not sound enthusiastic, and when she looked sideways at him, she saw that he looked sheepish. "Is it bad I don't want to?"

"It's hard to know what to say," Hermione said understandingly. "But they need us there."

"I know," he said, sighing. They had slowed down until both of them came to a complete halt. Harry's eyes were far away, across the lake, and he looked so mournful that Hermione knew instinctively what he was thinking, because it so typical _Harry_.

"Don't you feel guilty, Harry," she said quietly. He sighed again, but she heard the slight shuddering in his breath, as if he were keeping himself from crying. She gripped his shoulder tightly, but decided that now was not the time to talk about this, not right before they needed to go in to the Weasleys, so she changed the subject. Though she wanted to know what he and Kingsley talked about, she made a mental note to ask later and instead said, "Harry, I decided to go back to Hogwarts next year."

He looked at her, and there was a smile in his eyes now. "I knew it. How can you resist that offer? More learning, books...chances to answer questions...I'm surprised my jaw didn't fall off of my face when you told McGonagall you weren't sure yet."

She tugged his arms so they started walking across the grounds again and swatted him lightly. "Shut it, you. I knew you probably wouldn't want to go back either."

He smiled. "And I figured you would know." He paused, no longer smiling, his eyes far across the lake. He sighed. "I'm really going to miss you."

The part of Hermione's heart that told her never to separate from Harry or Ron after all this lurched, and lurched hard. But whatever voice last night that had told her to stay at Hogwarts this year held strong. "I'm going to miss you too, Harry."

It was quiet for another minute.

"Ginny going back?" he finally asked casually.

"I think so, yes," Hermione answered. "She wasn't exactly on the adventure with us and doesn't have the same - er - advantages that you, Ron, and I have. Besides, she would be in seventh year now anyway." She saw him nod, again looking a bit distant, and she added, "She wanted to talk to you earlier. Ginny."

He glanced at her quickly. "Why didn't she?"

"You were with Kingsley and she thought it was a bad time." She assessed his face and decided he looked a lot more up for her next question. "What were you talking about with Kingsley, anyway?"

They had approached the door now, and were staring at it a little nervously. He looked at her sideways. "Later," he assured her. And he grabbed her arm as he led her inside to where the Weasleys were waiting.

Hermione's eyes were already swimming with tears when she sat down next to Ron, but Ron's eyes simply looked dead.

"Hey mate," Harry said cautiously, settling in next to her and Ron.

"Hey," Ron said heavily.

"Gotten any sleep?" Harry asked.

Ron shrugged. "Little bit. You?"

"Same."

There was an unpleasant silence in which Hermione felt like she should say something, but was unsure if anything would help. Finally, she asked, in a low voice, "Where's George?"

For the Weasley twin was still absent.

"He went up to go to sleep, I think," Ron said quietly. No one mentioned the fact that it was morning, though everyone was thinking it. "So where'd you two go after you woke up?" Ron asked, and Hermione hoped she was imagining the slight accusatory tone in his voice.

"I had to put the Elder Wand back where it came from," Harry explained. "Hermione caught me coming back into the Great Hall."

"And you're both still rejecting McGonagall's offer, then? Of coming back here?"

Harry glanced at Hermione. "I am."

Hermione sighed, wanting to tell Ron this alone when they could talk more deeply. "I decided to come back."

But he didn't react the way she really expected - she expected him to be a little upset. After all, they did need to talk about their new found romantic relationship and maybe see what would happen next. She didn't know if he expected her to consult him or not.

Ron just nodded. "Yeah I figured. But for me it wouldn't seem right coming back anyway, you know? I'm too...ready to do other stuff, I guess."

Hermione smiled at him, but let her thoughts drift. This was indeed the first time the trio would no longer be the "trio" - they could not be around each other every waking moment and rely on each other for full support any longer. Each would have their own lives to begin, and who knew where those lives would take them. Hermione hated to think of her life or even a year at Hogwarts without Harry and Ron in it. While she knew they would see plenty of each other, somehow it just wouldn't be the same again, and that thought was very scary.

"It'll be weird," Harry said finally.

"You'll come live with us though, right?" Ron asked. "At least for a few weeks while we all get, you know, back on track? We have to do the - funeral arrangements," he said haltingly, but he plowed on. "Besides, Hermione already said she would too."

"She did?" Harry said, surprised, looking at her. Hermione nodded at him.

"Of course I will," Harry said.

* * *

Hermione glanced at Ginny sleeping on her bed when she went back up to pack her things that morning, for the redhead had gone up to take a nap. The young Weasley's eyes were rimmed with red, and her hair was spread out in tangles all over the pillow. Fred was a very large loss to Hermione, and it was hard to keep up her strong face for Ginny, but she knew she must. Ginny was not in the great condition that she acted like she was in - in fact, she was an absolute mess. It was obvious she wasn't sleeping much at all at night. She wondered what time Ginny had woken up the morning before.

Crookshanks meowed loudly and leaped into Hermione's lap. She had left Crookshanks with Ginny at the beginning of last year, for some company; and though Ron had given Ginny Pigwidgeon as well and she had two animals to care for, Hermione was sure that Ginny was happy for it. Ginny had missed Ron, Harry, and herself when they were gone, and though Ginny was certainly tough, she had gladly accepted the two animals for comfort.

But it seemed the cat still remembered Hermione perfectly and how to get food from her, because it looked right into her brown eyes with his yellow ones and let out another meow, and it was perfectly clear what he wanted. Hermione sighed, and arranged some cat food for him. When she was finished, she took another furtive peek at Ginny, to make sure she was really sleeping, and fished the brown package out of her knapsack.

She hesitated for half a minute, weighing what it could possibly be, before ripping the packaging paper off.

She felt a definite sense of anticlimax when she realized it was just a small hand mirror. It was a nice mirror, though - the sides were made with very beautiful decorations and an ornate golden frame, and there was an inscription in the back. She had to squint to make out what it said, as the writing was very small, but she finally read:

_Erised stra ehru oyt ube cafru oyt on wohsi_

She frowned at the words for a long time, but could make no sense of them or remember reading anything like them. The important part was, why had Dumbledore given her an old hand mirror?

Turning the mirror over, she glanced inside and gasped loudly. She covered her mouth and hurriedly checked with Ginny to make sure she hadn't woken her up, but the redhead was still very much asleep, so Hermione looked back to examine what she had seen in the mirror.

Her parents were smiling up at her, her father's arm over her mother's shoulders, and they were waving brightly. They looked so very happy to see her. She touched the mirror's surface lightly, wanting them to know she would be seeing them soon, wanting to know that they would remember her, their daughter...

Ginny gave a loud snore, and Hermione jumped and stuffed the mirror away, breathing hard. Although she didn't feel a desire to share it with anyone, she still wasn't quite sure why Dumbledore had told her specifically not to tell Harry and Ron. It didn't make any sense. She had half a mind to go back up and ask him, but she knew she would never do it.

* * *

That afternoon, it was time to leave Hogwarts.

Hermione wasn't entirely sure how she felt about this. She was still exhausted, both physically and emotionally. She knew the atmosphere at the Burrow wouldn't be the same. She didn't know how long she could stay.

After all, she ached to release her parents from their enchantment in Australia. She stared at their faces in the mirror before falling asleep very often that day, running up to her dorm to do so, telling them in her mind that she would be there soon, and wishing they could know that.

Ginny had indeed asked her what Dumbledore had given her, and Hermione had simply answered, "A mirror." Ginny had been disappointed, but had given up with the questions. Meanwhile, she had not told Harry and Ron about her desire to go to Australia, and was unsure that either of them would want to go, though she had considered asking them.

It would have to be done soon, before school began.

The three would not be truly parting ways, she was sure - after all, they couldn't go far without the other two, but still, it felt so odd. She had a lot of freedom and was almost afraid to use it.

They left in mid-afternoon then, all of them - the Weasleys, Harry, and Hermione - and made their way to the gates. There was no laughter like there usually was, or any chatter, but the air was more pleasant now, the vibe a little bit more comfortable.

Memories flew through her head in quick succession as they walked across the grounds; all their visits to Hagrid's hut, chasing Scabbers to the Whomping Willow third year, the Quidditch pitch where she had watched both of her boys play the dangerous sport, Dumbledore's funeral...tears began filling her eyes. Even coming back to Hogwarts next year, it wouldn't be the same.

Mr. Weasley had taken Fred's body, along with Lupin and Tonks, to the place where they were to be buried the day before - Fred to the Burrow, and Lupin and Tonks together, at Andromeda's place - so no one had much of anything in tow, save for Crookshanks, who was perched on Hermione's shoulder, and her knapsack. Ginny had Pigwidgeon and her trunk, and Harry had his bag, but other than that, they all had a light load when they got to the Apparition point.

They gathered around in a circle, Ron grasping Hermione's hand. She squeezed it reassuringly, and everyone looked at each other, as if not knowing what to say next. Ginny was clutching to Mr. Weasley's arm, and Harry moved to stand beside Ron and Hermione. He reached out and took Hermione's other hand. "We're leaving home," she heard him murmur, and she squeezed his hand too, not understanding how he must feel. The castle was his first real home. He wasn't coming back to live here any more. She tried to communicate without words that she was here.

Ron gave them both a small smile. "We'll start new homes."

Hermione took one last view of the castle; spectacular, with its many turrets, before she wiped a tear from her eye. She couldn't suppress a sniffle as everyone, as one, turned on the spot and vanished. The last thing she remembered feeling before the suction of Apparition was Harry's comforting squeeze on her hand.


	4. Fred's Funeral

Chapter Four

Fred's Funeral

* * *

_"There are deep worlds that we touch each time we sink, each time we are devastated. There are extreme depths that we reach only when dying."_  
Anais Nin

* * *

Neville had some very early mornings.

His Auror training had begun that Monday. Everyone else hadn't really started picking back up from the War yet, but what was Neville to do? He had visited the Weasley family of course, he had seen Harry and Hermione and Luna and...everyone there was to see. The battle hadn't, of course, changed the outcome of his parents' memories. His Gran was safer than ever, minus the fact there were still a few stray Death Eaters left over.

So what better time, he had figured, than to start his Auror training?

His marks in school hadn't been good enough for it. Everything was too low, but Neville's magic had started improving exactly when school marks didn't matter to him anymore. He called upon Harry, asking him if he could name-drop, saying he was a friend of Harry Potter and wanted to train.

But to his surprise, upon arriving at the Auror office, the head, a man by the name of Phillip Nash, already knew who he was. He was informed that he could begin his training and then take his aptitude tests immediately.

Both Neville and his Grandmother were delighted. He began as soon as possible, throwing himself into his work.

He was almost nearing the end of his first week. Each day he had become successively more sore and exhausted, and so this morning, since he had a few spare minutes, he decided to walk down to a tiny Muggle coffee shop and get himself a cappuccino to kick start his day, figuring he had more than earned it.

The bell dinged as he walked in, alerting the employees to his presence. The man at the bar was laughing happily with the person ordering, who from the back, Neville could only tell was a blond woman with running clothes on.

He walked up to the counter, and the man, still grinning, said, "We'll have that in a moment for you, Sarah."

"Okay." Her voice was so reassuring, somehow. And then she turned and looked Neville full in the face. He stared. She was wonderfully beautiful. Her eyes were a deep brown, her hair pulled back into a loose and casual ponytail. She was very petite and thin, with high cheekbones and, as she was already starting to smile at him, a gorgeous smile.

Neville kept staring.

"Hello," she said with a smile. "I'm Sarah."

"Um...Neville," he finally said, gaining his senses as he held out his hand.

She shook it and lingered on his hand for a moment, taking him in with a slow smile. "I've never heard that name before."

"That a good thing?"

She laughed, and he grinned too. "Oh yes, it's always nice to meet someone with an interesting name. Mine of course, doesn't do that same gratification to you, does it? Sarah is quite plain."

"You don't seem to plain to me." Neville mentally kicked himself.

She smiled at him again, and he suddenly wanted to pay her compliments all day just to see it. "So Neville, you are up early. What's the occasion?"

"Oh, work."

She leaned against the counter where they stood waiting for their coffee. "Work, huh? What work is that?"

_She's a Muggle._

That voice ran through his head, and his heart dropped a little. What was the word? "Cop," he said finally, relieved. It was somewhat close, he supposed. "I'm a cop."

"How brave of you." She winked at him. "I wish I could say something like that, but I'm just going on a run. I practice so I can get away from people like you if I need to."

He chuckled at her sarcasm. "I'll train extra hard so I could catch you if I needed to."

"Here you go, Sarah." The barista handed her a coffee and Sarah gave her winning smile to her.

"Thanks!" She took the lid off, poured a sugar in, and stirred it a little bit. After popping the lid back on, she looked up at Neville again and smiled. He detected the first bit of shyness in her eyes. "Well I hope to _catch_ you in here sometime again, Neville. I am quite a regular around here, as you can probably tell by the first name basis."

He smiled. "I'm sure that I will."

She hesitated a little, but then just smiled at him. "Well, goodbye." And with one last glance, she was out the coffee shop and onto the street. The barista put his drink onto the counter with a clang, and he turned to pick it up. She was smiling at him too.

"She wanted you to ask her to coffee, you know."

Neville looked up at her. "Really?"

She grinned, wiping the counter behind the bar. "Most definitely."

Needless to say, Neville felt like an idiot. And Sarah the Muggle, with the brown eyes and sweet smile, was on his mind the rest of the day.

* * *

For the Trio, the next two weeks were a blur. A sad, horrible blur.

George Weasley was almost never seen. He didn't come down for meals. Every once in a while Mrs. Weasley tentatively made her way up to his and Fred's old room to talk to him, and Mr. Weasley did as well. Bill must have tried once, but no one else quite knew what to do.

It was completely normal for someone to start sobbing seemingly out of nowhere, and for that person sobbing to begin a whole chain of it.

More and more bad news seemed to approach rather than good, though there must have been plenty of good. It was hard to focus on though. They were so used to the bad.

The Ministry was back and running, after all. Muggleborns were being released. Voldemort was gone for good. Lots of news seemed to come of deaths and injuries, such as the death of Lavender Brown. The attack from Fenrir Greyback had been too much. She had eventually died in St. Mungo's. Fenrir was nowhere to be found, along with a few others, but the Ministry was not concerned with the scattered Death Eaters.

Trials were stressful. Although most came out with a positive impact, there were those of course that claimed the Imperius Curse. Under Kingsley, however, sentences were much easily convicted and harsher, so the stress of a Death Eater not being condemned was not too high.

On top of this, Umbridge was tried and convicted for rounding up Muggleborns. Harry had certainly been pleased to go to that particular trial, and Hermione was sure McGonagall was right in line with him and having a great laugh. But she stayed away. The unrest and conflict was too much.

Ron was quiet and distant. She had known Ron was not the most emotionally apt person, but she had thought he might talk to her a little bit about his brother's death or their future together. Only Mrs. Weasley and Harry asked how she was feeling.

And then, quite suddenly, it was two weeks later, and the morning of Fred's funeral couldn't have been any more perfect. The air was clean and cool, the sun was shining, but it was not unbearably hot, and there were only large, fluffy clouds in the sky, the most beautiful kind. It was as if the weather too was rejoicing the life of Fred Weasley.

Indeed, Hermione was thinking, as she stared out his window, the Weasleys had said they were aiming for more of a celebratory kind of service for Fred. Rather than magnify the loss farther, they wanted to celebrate his accomplishments and the wonderful parts of his life and personality. Of course, mourning would be a given, and this was precisely what Hermione was afraid of.

She had not wanted to feel this particular death. Fred Weasley had been like a brother all of them, and somehow seemed invincible - at least, with George. But now only one remained, a constant reminder of the other twin that was no longer there, dying to protect them as they tried to destroy Horcruxes. Hermione buried her head in her hands and screwed up her face.

She wasn't ready to go downstairs. She wasn't ready to face this funeral; Lupin and Tonks' would be together, next week, but she wasn't ready to face this first obstacle, as if the first burial would make this more real.

"Hermione?" She whipped around from the windowsill and stared at the doorway. It was Harry. He was in a curious position, his right arm half extended, as if wanting to reach out, but his face was torn between concern and anxiety, as if unsure he should approach her. "Are you all right?" he asked quietly.

Hermione seemed to feel her face from the inside out then, and realized that there were tears etched on her cheeks. And then suddenly she cried, "Oh, Harry!" and ran forward to fling her arms around his neck.

He buried his face in her hair, but he did not cry - she did, in quiet gasps, and he didn't say a word, so she let him stroke her hair and back until she looked up at him with very red eyes. "I'm scared," she whispered.

"Me too," he said thickly. Neither needed to explain - they both knew exactly what they were afraid of. Instead, Harry asked, "Is everybody downstairs?"

"Yes," she answered. "I think it's time to go down. Kingsley will be the last to arrive, in a few minutes." She looked at him imploringly. "What did Kingsley tell you, Harry? Was it important? It looked like you were having a really serious conversation the other day," she finished worriedly.

Hermione wanted to talk about anything other than the funeral, and he had promised her he would explain, but something seemed to be holding him back. "Later, Hermione," he said quietly.

"But Harry - "

"Later," he said, more harsh than she expected. She shrank a little, her eyes sank to the floor. He wrapped his arms around her tightly right away. "It's not that I don't want to tell you," he mumbled into her ear. "I just can't right now."

"Why not?" she demanded.

"I just can't."

"Why?" she said, a little crazily, leaning back and shaking him a little. "You didn't tell us when you were planning to go die, Harry! What if it's something like that again, how do I know you won't sacrifice yourself for something or do something stupid - "

"Hermione!" He grabbed her shoulders and cut in to her dialogue, staring at her. "Voldemort is gone! What did you think I was planning on doing?"

"I don't know, I don't know!" she wailed miserably, flapping her arms as more tears escaped from her eyes.

"It's nothing like that," he assured her, hugging her again, resting his chin on top of her head.

He felt her sigh beneath him. "Then what's wrong?" she asked firmly.

"Nothing, I - "

"Harry."

He sighed, loudly, but spoke earnestly, wanting her to understand. "I can't right now Hermione, all right? We have a funeral this morning and we need to figure out our lives and just - relax. Don't worry, I promise. I won't go anywhere, I just...can't bring anything else on you right now."

Hermione's voice softened in spite of herself. "Oh, Harry - "

Footsteps interrupted her next sentence. "Hey, you two, it's time to come downstairs."

Ron was standing in the doorway, looking between the two. His face was slack, with no emotion, save for his eyebrows, which were raised a tiny bit. Harry released Hermione, who was wiping her eyes on her sleeve. "Right," Harry said, nodding. She felt the dread rising in her stomach, but she followed Ron and Harry out of the Burrow and into the sunshine.

With an uncharacteristically gentlemanly move, Ron placed his hand on the small of Hermione's back and guided her down a row of seats. He was leading her where the family was sitting - and Harry hesitated. But Ron turned back and gestured him forward earnestly, and Mr. Weasley turned and gave him a big smile and nodded. Harry filed in and sat on Ron's other side.

Hermione noted Ginny sitting right in front of her, in between her mother and father. Her head was bowed, but he could not see if there were tears coming from her eyes.

She glanced around some more, at the guests, more to avoid looking at the coffin than anything else.

Everyone was there, it seemed - even Filch had found the courtesy to attend, even if it was in his suit that looked and smelled like mothballs. Mrs. Norris sat purring contentedly in his lap. Aberforth Dumbledore was there as well, looking rather sharp, and his blue eyes, so much like his brother's, pierced Hermione's for a moment when they met.

Hermione gave him a small smile and continued to look around. She noticed Andromeda sitting quite alone, holding little Teddy Lupin on her lap, and Hermione wondered what would become of him and Harry's godfather relationship.

When finally the familiar tufty haired man came forward, the very same from Bill and Fleur's wedding and Dumbledore's funeral, Hermione did not want to listen. She did not want to hear what this man had to say about Fred, because she hadn't really known him - and though the man said 'great sense of humor' and 'intelligent' and 'ambitious', all Hermione could think of was Fred and George releasing hell on Professor Umbridge, or their extensive knowledge of Hogwarts' secret passageways.

She found himself grinning and then wondering, what was wrong with her?

But when she looked around, she saw that other people were smiling too as they remembered Fred as they knew him, and all the great successes in his life. Hermione peeked at the rest of the Weasley family - everyone was clutching someone - Charlie and his mother, Ginny and George, Bill and Fleur - except for Mr. Weasley, who was the only one smiling gently.

Ron was crying as well, and Hermione buried her head on his shoulder, and reached for Harry's hand on her other side.

She had lost one of her brothers in the War - but the tufty haired man had it right with many things, especially this one - Fred died in the most noble way possible, protecting the world that everyone else could now live in. And while everyone wiped their eyes, Hermione was sure they were also proud, and thinking the same thing.

* * *

When everyone was finally starting to get up, Ron and Hermione remained seated - she was sobbing onto his shoulder still - and then Ginny caught Harry's eye.

She had been crying, he could tell, but she wasn't any longer. She met his gaze evenly, without a trace of fear or hesitation, and jerked her thumb over her shoulder, as if to ask, 'Want to take a walk?' Harry nodded and held up a finger, to get her to wait for him, and hurried over to where Andromeda and Teddy were sitting first.

Andromeda stood up and smiled at him, and as she smiled her resemblance to Bellatrix Lestrange, her sister, deflated. Teddy was smiling happily, making cooing sounds. "Hello Harry," she said kindly.

"Hello Mrs. Tonks," he said. He patted Teddy on the head carefully, unsure. "How old is he now?"

"Almost four months," she said, grinning down at the baby. "Want to hold him?"

"Erm - sure." He held out his arms awkwardly as Andromeda deposited Teddy into them, but Harry was surprised that Teddy felt natural in them. "So - Mrs. Tonks," he began, as Teddy reached up and tried to yank on his chin, "I have been needing to talk to you since the end of the battle."

"About Teddy?" she asked knowingly.

"Y-yes," Harry said. "I don't know what your plans are for him. I know that I'm - his godfather. I also know that Lupin and Tonks left Teddy to me in their will. If you can't take him or don't want to, it's my responsibility."

"Do you want Teddy, Harry?" Andromeda said shrewdly, her eyes narrowed a little.

Harry sighed, looking away. "Yes and no," he said honestly. "I-I don't know how great I would be at raising him. I'm only seventeen. And I want to go into the Auror department. Being who I am may put him in danger while I still round up the last of the Death Eaters."

Andromeda's face was kind when she spoke again. "I should have known it would be some noble reason. I heard a lot about you from Lupin and Tonks." Her face suddenly screwed up, a mirror of pain. "Of course I understand that, Harry. And I realize they gave you guardianship, so if you would rather have him, he is yours. But you also must understand that Teddy is all I have left."

She did not cry, she simply looked at him. "So if you want to have him, then have him. But if you want me to have him, I would be happy to take him, at least while you figure out your job and get the last of the dangers out of the way. Of course you can drop by and visit any time you like. It's your decision, Harry - but Teddy would keep me from being awfully lonely."

"Then keep him," Harry said quietly. "It is better for the both of you right now."

"And you, Harry," Andromeda said gently. He shrugged, and handed Teddy back to Andromeda, though the baby still stared at Harry with awe, reaching his arms out. "He likes you," she said with a smile.

"I will definitely have to be visiting a ton, then," Harry said, patting Teddy one last time and smiling at Andromeda. "Thank you Mrs. Tonks."

"Thank _you_, Harry." She beamed at him, and on this happy note, Harry turned to accompany Ginny on the walk, where she was patiently waiting. Guests were dispersing and either leaving or going into the Burrow to chat about Fred and happy memories, but Ginny remained, patiently waiting for him by the neat row of bushes.

They began to walk, in silence, and Harry was getting more agitated by the minute. As soon as they had reached the gate of the yard and began to walk alongside it, in a giant circle, Ginny took his hand.

Harry felt himself relax immediately and indefinitely. He always knew that the Weasleys loved him as their son and put up with the dangers of associating with him more than he could understand, the dangers bestowed on their family. Ron had disappeared with him for a year, Bill had been attacked by Greyback, and Fred...

Fred felt different, somehow. If only he had found the Horcruxes sooner, if only he had seen Snape's memories sooner, been able to sacrifice himself sooner...Fred never would have died. And while he felt mostly guilty of all the battles that they had all endured, the Weasleys had always maintained firmly that Harry was their son, that it was no burden on them, and that half of the Weasley family owed him their lives.

But he couldn't help but wonder, that with the death of her beloved brother, Ginny might not be as keen to be with Harry, might not be so happy to talk with him - the small, nagging part of his mind had been terrified of the Weasleys, of Ginny, their reactions. But she took his hand, and led him across the garden, and he felt relieved at this simple gesture. In short, it was as if nothing had changed.

Finally, they stopped. He could see the top of the Burrow peeking out over the rosebush they were behind.

It was hard to look into her face and see the much older woman there, the suffering that was as plain as day. He opened his mouth to talk, having difficulty getting his throat to work. "H-how are you?" he asked her.

She shrugged. "Fine, I guess." She fixed him with her blazing look. "And you?"

"Same."

She did not reply for a long time; instead, she looked out over the gate, into the field, where the gnomes where beginning to sneak back into the grounds from their de-gnoming the day before, for the funeral. Finally, she said quietly, "What do we do, Harry?"

His hearbeat quickened. "What do you mean?"

She looked at him finally, her stare intense, but he could still detect the faintest trace of uncertainty in her eyes. "Do you want to start over again?"

He did not need to ask what she meant. He took both of her hands in his, and whispered, "Of course I do, Gin. More than anything." And with that, she flung her arms around him, kissing him, pouring everything from the past year, it seemed, into the kiss, and when they finally broke apart, he leaned her forehead to hers, feeling that even given the circumstances, his heart was swelling in his chest from happiness.

* * *

a/n~ I've said it before, I'll say it again. Ignoring that Harry and Ginny ever had anything ever, or their feelings suddenly "quitting" does not make it very realistic (as much as I would like to do that). I like her okay...just not for Harry in my eyes. Same with Ron and Hermione. So that's why fans of Weasleys and everything don't have to worry about Weasley bashing and all that in this story. I like them, so they will remain likeable :)

Sorry for the long wait! Chapter 5 is sent to my beta already, so it should be out within a week or two.

Review? :)


	5. Secrets

a/n~ Hello loves! So, I have Chapter 6 and 7 ready for you as well, which I hope will make you happy, because for those reading this story from the original, Chapter Five doesn't have many changes in it - there is only a slight hint of one at the end, of something to come next chapter. Of course when they all go their separate ways the story will start becoming drastically different. Anyway, Chapter 6 should be out very soon then, within the next week. Please review! :)

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Chapter Five

Secrets

* * *

_"Someone I loved once gave me a box full of darkness. It took me years to understand that this, too, was a gift."_

* * *

He sat up in bed, in the middle of the night, again.

Why did this keep happening? It was a dream, he was sure of it. But for some reason, he couldn't remember. Some force within him woke him up, and he found himself sitting up automatically, but not jerking awake - no, more as if he were just calmly sitting up in bed - and then he would realize he was awake.

Every time this happened, he went downstairs, and found the same thing waiting for him.

Sighing, he pushed the covers off and padded through the hallway, down the beautiful marble staircase, and made the long walk to the kitchen. There, he saw what he expected to see - his father, sitting at the dining room table, staring at the grand clock. One in the morning, it read.

And just like every other night the past few weeks, he asked the same question. "Where is mother?"

His father did not even move his gaze from the clock. "The same as usual, Draco. I do not know."

Malfoy stared at his father. He was ragged in appearance - his long blond hair more unkempt than ever, his skin more pale than ever, and a crazed look in his eyes that seemed to be there consistently.

Narcissa Malfoy kept disappearing. Where she was going, both the Malfoy men were unsure, but she always turned up the next morning, unharmed and tight-lipped, acting as if nothing had happened. Naturally, the atmosphere in the household had been a tense one, especially considering that the Malfoys only had themselves now. The Death Eaters, or what was left of them, hardly liked the Malfoys, but the Malfoys didn't want anything to do with them either. They didn't want anything to do with anybody - just to be left alone in peace and contentment.

But while Narcissa Malfoy kept disappearing until late at night, that peace and contentment was eluding the family. Lucius became more upset, Narcissa became worse, and Draco feared for all of their futures.

What was he to do, after all, in this new world? Surely he would be shunned by everyone that had fought against the Dark Lord and everyone that had shared his aims. They certainly wouldn't be friendly to him especially because he had helped bring about the death of Dumbledore, which he shuddered to think about.

His father no longer had the influence he used to have, even with all the gold in the world - Draco was no longer arrogant enough to believe this. The Malfoy's reputation was long gone, and with it, Draco feared his chance for a job and moving out of the house were rapidly vanishing too - he had not, after all, finished schooling. And while he had enough money for life, probably, he did not want to be stuck in this house, with his parents, forever, reliant on their funds.

So something - fear, maybe, or anxiety - urged Draco to say something else tonight, something he normally wouldn't dare say to his currently temperamental father.

"You aren't going to try and find her?"

Lucius' head snapped over to fix his son with his grey stare. "I do not want to find someone that doesn't want to be found."

"Mother wants to be here." Draco's tone was steely. "She cares about the family."

Lucius smiled, a little coldly, and shook his head slowly. He did not say anything about the subject on the Dark Lord, as he usually ignored this. All he said was, "Then where is she, Draco?"

And to this, Malfoy had no answer.

* * *

"I'm coming to get you soon," she whispered. "I promise."

Hermione's parents smiled and waved at her from the mirror, and she felt her heart ache, even more so than she had before. With the funerals all out of the way, she felt like she needed to be getting on her way as well - she liked staying with the Weasleys, but the need to see her own family was almost driving her insane.

She desperately wanted someone to come with her.

Ron still needed to be with his family, and probably wanted to be. She knew this. Ginny needed to be here too, preparing for going to Hogwarts again in the fall and to spend time with her family. Of course, the only person that really could go, and that she wanted with her all the time, was Harry.

After Fred's funeral, Harry and Ginny had gotten back together. Hermione didn't think the redhead would mind if she took Harry to Australia with her, but Harry may want to stay and spend as much time with Ginny as possible before the Weasley girl went back to Hogwarts in the fall.

This thought distressed Hermione for many reasons. The trio was obviously already beginning to grow apart, and she felt more alone than ever.

She also knew Harry was worried about his own future. He had informed her of Kingsley telling him of the guardianship of Teddy, but that he had let Andromeda keep him, but she could also tell that Harry wished he didn't have to say no, that he felt like he was betraying his duty as a godfather. Every other night, he stepped out to visit little Teddy. They had discussed Harry becoming an Auror, but nothing had been done yet - these last few days had mostly been a lull, a void almost, in which no one did much of anything except be together.

Hermione didn't want to be the first to break the strange peace, but she knew she had to go soon - her eyes filled with tears every time she saw her parents' faces.

"What's that, Hermione?"

She jumped and quickly shoved the mirror deep into her handbag. "N-nothing," she stuttered, straightening up to see Harry entering the room.

He was smiling. "Didn't look like nothing," was all he said.

Shrugging, she said lightly, "Well, we all have our secrets."

He laughed. "Aw, come on, Hermione. You and I aren't supposed to have secrets. We never do."

"You mean I never have secrets from _you_," she corrected him, though she was smiling and her tone was joking. "You keep things from me all the time."

"Yeah, well...not usually," he muttered, looking down with a defeated grin.

She decided the time had come for a quick subject change, and she blurted out the first thing she thought of. "I'm leaving soon, Harry."

He looked up quickly, looking surprised. "What?"

"I need to see my parents," she said, forcing herself to try and stay calm, even though her eyes were filling with tears. "I want to bring them back."

Harry blinked twice, then seemed to recover, and stated, as if it were obvious, "Then I'm coming with you."

"I - oh," was all she said, shocked and pleased at the same time.

"Unless you don't want me to," he said quickly.

"No, no, I was going to ask," she said hastily. "I'm glad I didn't have to. Thank you, Harry." They smiled at each other for a few moments, until he asked, "What about Ron?"

"I haven't asked him yet," she said. "I don't know if he will go or not." She paused. "I actually didn't think you would go, either."

"I have to go."

She frowned. "Don't feel like you have to go, Harry."

He sighed and ran his fingers through his hair, looking slightly like a child caught in the act of something naughty. "No, I want to go too, I just mean...well, you know the whole "secrets" thing?" he asked hesitantly.

Her eyes narrowed a little. "Yeah..."

"Kingsley said a little more to me after the funeral than about the arrangements for Teddy. And I won't let you go to Australia by yourself." He was looking at the floor, looking sheepish, but glanced up at her quickly every few words.

"Well, let's hear it, then," she said, trying not to show her exasperation or anxiety.

He seemed to sense that she was hiding it though, because he said quickly, "Just that Fenrir Greyback has eluded capture. A few others have too, and Kingsley is a little afraid of a rallying point in the...future. Not anytime soon, but just something to be aware of. And with all the unrest in the Wizarding World right now, I just think it's best if I came with you to Australia."

She bit her lip, but the first thing that came out of her mouth was, in a tone that came out sounding more accusatory than intended, "You want to come because you want to babysit me?"

"Protect you," he corrected. "And spend some time with my very best friend."

He did his best attempt at what he clearly hoped was a winning smile, but she fixed him with a glare. It was more mocking than anything - it was hard to stay mad at Harry for long for hiding things from her when he was doing it for these reasons.

"Well, you're still a git for not telling me earlier," she said stiffly. "If it isn't such a big deal, then why didn't you? Did you tell Ron?"

"I hoped you wouldn't think it was a big deal," he said smoothly. "And uh...yeah. I did."

Her eyes narrowed even further. "And he didn't tell me...why?"

"Same reason," Harry replied, his voice getting a little smaller.

She frowned at him, but then pondered. "Do you think Ron would want to go?"

"Go where?" Ron's voice came from the doorway, and they both jumped. Ron walked into the room, looking lighter than he had in a long time.

Hermione glanced at Harry before looking back to Ron. "Australia," she said quietly. "I'm going to get my parents in Australia."

She watched Ron deflate a little.

"Are - are you _both_ going?" Ron asked, his eyebrows raised a little bit in surprise.

"Well - " Hermione began tentatively.

"Yes," Harry said firmly. "Remember what Kingsley said, Ron? I don't think she should be going alone."

"Right, well...of course not," Ron said hurriedly. "Erm - Hermione, can I have a word? Alone?"

Shocked, she nodded mutely. Harry smiled at them both and stepped out of the room, but not before giving Hermione a bewildered glance. As soon as the door was closed, Ron said, "Hermione, you could have asked me first before asking Harry." He sounded a little cross, but not angry.

"I didn't ask, Ronald, he offered. And besides, I didn't know if you wanted to stay with the family a little longer."

He looked sheepish suddenly. "Hermione, I want to go with you. I was actually on my way up here with some news though." He shifted his feet uncomfortably. "George - well, if you haven't noticed, he's not doing so well. I think I'm going to back with him to the joke shop in a few days. Get him back up and started again. And then after that...start my Auror training. So, do you think you could wait on the Australia thing until I can go?"

She felt her insides drop. Wait, when she so desperately needed to see her parents again? Surely he understood how important family was, especially right now? She couldn't believe he was asking her to do this. However, she just said quietly, "Ron, I need to go now."

"Why?" he asked defiantly. "You can't go alone. Just wait for me - "

"Harry said he would go with me," Hermione snapped, hating feeling like the child in need of - whatever word Harry liked to use - babysitting.

"Ginny will be going back to Hogwarts in a few weeks. He might want to spend time with her," Ron said shrewdly.

Hermione knew he wasn't trying to hurtful, and that she had even thought the same thing herself, but it stung anyway to think that she might be a burden to Harry. "Well I'm leaving in a few days whether you like it or not, Ron," she said, gritting her teeth.

"Hermione look - I really want to go, can't it just...wait? I know it's important, but please? You and I could go to Australia and I thought we could talk about...us." His ears turned a deeper shade of red.

Hermione's face softened a little. "We can talk about us when I get back. You can focus on your new job opportunity and I can get my parents, okay? I really can't wait on this."

"All right," he sighed, his face downcast. "Just be careful."

* * *

In the end, Harry convinced Hermione that he truly wanted to go to Australia with her, though she tried numerous times to get him to stay and not feel an obligation to her. Ron was not extremely pleased that she wouldn't wait, and even less pleased that Harry insisted on going, but they both knew it was best. Ginny was not happy either, mostly because she lost a few precious days with Harry before she returned to Hogwarts.

Rather than being trapped in a strange limbo in which nothing was moving forward, the Weasleys were starting to become productive and busy again.

Mr. Weasley returned to work and Mrs. Weasley starting fussing over everyone else's rooms, laundry, and the general state of cleanliness of the place. Bill and Fleur were dropping in nearly every day, as was Percy. George was finally getting the nerve for going back to run the joke shop, with Ron by his side. And Ginny would be returning to Hogwarts in a little over a month, with Hermione, once she got back.

But while all the Weasleys, including Ron, were moving forward in their lives and careers, Hermione felt more stuck than ever before. All she could think about were her parents, and then school, and then...what?

Hermione always merely picked at her food, hoping that no one would ask the awkward question - what are _you_ doing next? She really could do anything she liked, and the thought of so many options was downright frightening. She almost had too many choices to make her decision. Logical and rational as she was, she was terrified that making one decision would ultimately close the door to many others, so she found herself weighing her options, looking at every possible angle, all the while doing nothing and taking no action.

It was exhausting on her mind, and she needed a break.

And so, she threw herself into packing her bag that night and thought of nothing but her parents, taking out the mirror for a while to gaze at them, more than ready to depart for the Outback in the morning.

* * *

The morning of the departure seemed to run much too slowly for Hermione. She felt like she was doing everything quickly - her shower, getting dressed, drying her hair, and getting ready - but how had so much time passed? Why was the clock speeding up?

She really wanted to get to Australia, and quickly. She had found herself gazing into her little mirror a bit too long the night before.

When she got down to breakfast, however, everyone was in a very somber mood. Mr. Weasley was already gone, but she found Harry, Ron, and Ginny engrossed in a Daily Prophet, Ginny with her hands over her mouth. "Morning, Hermione dear," Mrs. Weasley said, shoveling some eggs onto a plate and putting them down for her, before bustling back to the stove, her lips pursed sadly.

"Thanks Mrs. Weasley," she said distractedly, sitting down next to the others. "What's going on?" she asked in a low voice.

Without a word, Ron passed her the newspaper and Hermione bent forward to read.

Scandal in Malfoy Manor

_Writes Rita Skeeter_

_Lucius Malfoy, age 45, and Narcissa Malfoy, age 42, were both found dead in their Wilkshire mansion last night. They are survived by their son Draco Malfoy, age 17._

_The Malfoys were all widely immersed in the Dark Arts, Draco even haven rumored to take part in the murder of Albus Dumbledore and the terrorizing of Hogwarts by Death Eaters at his young age of 16. After Lucius Malfoy got on the wrong side of You-Know-Who, however, it has been revealed to the Daily Prophet that the Malfoys seemed "less than eager to be on the Dark side any longer." Wizards who investigated the scene last night believed they were going to find that the Malfoys had been killed by the last of the Death Eaters, who are enraged for the Malfoys' cowardice in their service of You-Know-Who in the Final Battle._

_Sadly, this is not what they found at all._

_It seems that the wizards investigating found Draco hiding in a closet, and he was able to give a full account of what happened, though he was highly unwilling, even stunning two men before coming quietly. Veritiserum is lawful in these types of circumstances, and investigators used some on young Draco to discover the truth._

_It seems that Lucius Malfoy came home in a temper, and Narcissa's enchantments on the door would only hold for so long, since it was Lucius' own house. Fearfully, she instructed Draco to hide in the closet. He gave witness that he heard his father enter the home by physical force and, in a fit of rage, kill his wife Narcissa. Seconds later, Lucius killed himself._

_Even more baffling, Draco is nowhere to be found, as he escaped from where the authorities were keeping him for his own safety. It seems that not all was peaceful in the Malfoy home. And while the Wizarding World is unsure of this puzzling crisis and why it occurred authorities are doing everything they can to investigate the situation._

Hermione looked up from what she was reading, feeling positively sick to her stomach. Ginny's brown eyes were full of tears, Ron looked very disturbed, and Harry looked grim. "It's awful," Hermione whispered, not knowing what else to say.

"He had to hear it all," Ginny said quietly.

"Terrible," Ron grunted.

Harry did not comment, but was still gazing down at the article intensely, as if more answers would pop up from it.

The mood at the rest of breakfast was very grim. No one spoke much, and when Harry and Hermione went upstairs to get their suitcases, they were quite glad to be rid of the subdued silence. "What do you think happened?" Harry asked her, and she could tell he had wanted to ask her for a long time.

"No idea," she said slowly. "I can't say what would make a husband turn on his wife like that..."

"The Imperius Curse?" Harry suggested quietly.

"Maybe," she murmured, still thinking hard.

They lugged their bags down the old, creaking staircase in silence. When they reached the bottom, Ginny, Ron, and Mrs. Weasley were waiting for them. Mrs. Weasley said goodbye to both briefly, before hugging them and stepping out of the room.

The four looked at each other. "Sorry I can't go, Hermione," Ron said quietly. "If you would just..." he trailed off, not finishing his sentence but looking hopeful.

Hermione just shook her head sadly, and stepped forward and hugged him. Ginny was hugging Harry too, whispering something in his ear, and then before they knew it, they were waving goodbye and walking outside with their backpacks.

They didn't speak even until they reached the Apparition point. Harry turned to her. "Okay, I have somewhere I wanted to stop by first. Is that all right?"

"Sure. Where is it?"

Harry smiled a little. "I think it will surprise you. Here." He reached for her hand and she took it, being pulled into the suctioning darkness of Apparition.


	6. Australia

a/n~ **Hello dahlings! Chapter 6! Thank you for all your support and reviews last chapter. Love you all :***

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Chapter Six

Australia

They landed on a regular looking suburban neighborhood in London.

Hermione glanced around. "Harry, where are we?"

He smiled a little. "You'll see."

She clutched his arm and let him lead her down the street, where all the houses looked the same. When they reached a driveway before one, he stopped and took his backpack off. He opened it and pulled out a cage with an owl in it, a snowy one, asleep with its head under its wing.

"Harry, wha-?"

"Undetectable Extension Charm," he broke in. "A little something I picked up from this friend of mine once." He flashed her a grin.

"Yes, but when did you get this owl?"

"Yesterday. When I went to visit Teddy I stopped by Diagon Alley."

"Is it yours?"

He shook his head. "I do want a new one. But I figured I would save that for when you and Ginny go school shopping. You two can help me pick it out." He smiled at her again, but she was still confused.

"Then what is this for?"

"Patience, Granger," he said with a mischievous smile.

He put his backpack back on, picked up the cage, and started walking again up the drive to the house, motioning for Hermione to follow. And all the sudden, she saw the number on the house and understood. "Harry, why on earth are you coming here?" she wondered.

He just rang the doorbell.

There were footsteps, and then it swung open. Hermione had seen Harry's uncle before, but really didn't have the desire to see him again. He was not a good-looking man by any means; in fact, the whole family was quite hideous to her, but even more, she hated the way they had treated Harry. She didn't know if she would have the patience to be nice to them.

"What are you doing here?" Uncle Vernon barked.

"Yeah, I'm glad you're safe too," said Harry, stepping smartly over the threshold. Hermione followed him nervously, but that didn't stop him from noticing.

"Why did you bring your girlfriend with you? And that bloody owl!" For he had just noticed the cage.

"Yes, this is my friend Hermione, and it would be nice if you could pretend to be charmed to meet her because anyone else would be. And this isn't Hedwig," Harry said shortly.

A shrill voice came from the kitchen. "Vernon? Who was at the door?"

"The boy, Petunia!"

There was a long silence. Then they heard slow footsteps and his Aunt appeared, looking as horse-like as ever, her long neck craning upwards in a disapproving stare at the two of them. "Why did you bring that creature back into this house?"

"Well, I thought you would all be back here, seeing as I defeated Voldemort and saved your skins, and I wanted to confirm my suspicion. And technically, this particular creature has never set foot in this house because this is not my old owl." Harry was having no nonsense from them today.

"Sure looks like it," his Uncle snapped.

"Well it's not, because Hedwig died," Harry said matter-of-factly.

"Saving our skins," his Uncle puffed. "As if you weren't the one to drag us into all this magic business in the first place. You and your bloody parents."

Aunt Petunia was looking at them with pursed lips, especially staring at Hermione; and while Petunia did not criticize Harry with Vernon, she didn't stick up for him either. Hermione suspected she had more of a soft spot for Harry than his Uncle, but nevertheless, they both made her sick.

"Whatever you think on that doesn't really matter," said Harry. "Because I came here to see Dudley."

"And what do you want with Dudley?" Aunt Petunia finally spoke up again.

"Probably trying to recruit him over and kidnap him," said Vernon.

Hermione took a slow, deep breath. It was very, very difficult remaining quiet. But Harry just rolled his eyes. "Is he here or not?"

They studied them both for a long time - then finally Aunt Petunia turned and called, "Dudley!"

In a minute, Dudley had lumbered down the stairs. He was no longer the whale he used to be, but rather had grown into his bigness. And while he would never be skinny, he wasn't taking up half the table by sitting down anymore either, nor did he have five chins. He glanced curiously back and forth between Hermione and Harry. "Who's the girl?"

"This is my friend, Hermione," explained Harry. "I came here to offer you this."

He held up the owl cage and Aunt Petunia shrieked and started to look faint.

"Absolutely not!" Uncle Vernon roared.

"I believe Dudley is of age," said Harry.

"But this is our house, and - " Uncle Vernon stopped, realizing that by disagreeing with Harry, he was possibly offending Dudley by not giving him full permission to do anything he wanted. "This - this thing isn't actually something you want, is it Dudley?"

"What's it for?" Dudley asked Harry.

"If you want to write me, or something; in case you wanted to keep in contact - you could just write my name on the letter and the owl can do the rest. Plus, they do make pretty good companions. I thought I would extend the offer to you, since you were the only member of the family that didn't say I was a waste of space."

He was staring at it. "It looks like yours."

"I know," said Harry quietly.

"But it's not?"

"No," said Harry. "Hedwig died."

Dudley looked between his parents and Harry. "I want it."

Vernon looked at him. "Oh Dudley, surely - "

"Dad!" He said loudly. "I want it. He did keep us safe."

Harry glanced at Hermione and grinned. He knew that when Dudley wanted something, it would happen. "From a mess that he created!" Vernon snapped. "But fine. Keep the ruddy owl." He stormed away, back to the kitchen.

Aunt Petunia gave them one last, lingering look. It didn't hold malice, but it didn't hold love either. And then she too, returned to the kitchen.

"Well, I guess that's our dismissal," said Harry, grinning cheekily.

"Thanks, Harry," said Dudley.

Harry clapped him on the back. "Glad you're all right, Dudley. Maybe we can visit sometime. And if you need anything, you now know where to find me." He winked, and with that, motioned for Hermione to follow him until they were out on the doorstep once more, the front door closed behind them.

And Hermione was left wondering if Harry's nobility would stop anywhere.

* * *

They landed for a second time with a thud in the middle of a deserted alley - outside it was a bustling square of people. "Wow," Harry said suddenly. "I'm in Australia."

Hermione giggled. "You're only in an alley in Australia," she reminded him. "Wait until you see the real thing."

"You've been here?"

She rolled her eyes and smiled at him. "Briefly, last summer. I wanted to make sure I liked my parents' house that I put them in." She grinned at him. "Wendell and Monica Wilkins are quite spoiled, if I do say so myself. I mean, I wasn't sure if - if I would ever see them again." Her voice quavered a little, but it was mostly from excitement and anticipation.

Harry misunderstood her shaky voice for sadness and squeezed her shoulder. "We made it just fine," he assured her. "And so did they."

She smiled at him. "I know." She led him out into the square, where no one paid them much attention and everyone was going to their own destination. They got snippets of conversation, hearing the lovely Australian accent that Hermione adored so much. Dusk was already settling here, and Harry looked baffled.

"What time is it?" he asked, sounding confused.

"We left around nine, so around six in the evening, I believe," she said, and when he still had his brow furrowed, she giggled. "You really should travel more, Harry."

He smiled a little. "Well now that I have the chance, maybe you're right." He looked around. "So, where to? What city are we in, anyway?"

"Sydney," she explained, glancing around to get her bearings. "I visited Melbourne, and while it was less touristy, I thought they would be more comfortable here. Melbourne is more full of nightlife and young people."

"Maybe we should go there and you could buy me a drink," Harry said cheekily, and she swatted him.

"I'm not buying you anything," she said sternly. "Especially not alcohol. Now come on, let's go."

She tugged on his hand and led him down a narrow street which led to a nice looking neighborhood. On the way, Harry asked conversationally, rubbing his arms, "Is it just me, or is it chilly? I mean, for being July?"

"Their seasons are reversed," Hermione explained, her eyes still on the road to be sure that they were going the right direction. "This is technically their winter."

"_This_ is their winter?" Harry asked incredulously. "Maybe I should just move _here_! Plus, no one gawking at my forehead everywhere I go..." Hermione snorted a little at his lack of knowledge and reasoning, but as they approached the rows of houses, Harry's voice got a little nervous. "Erm - want to put on the Cloak?"

"Not particularly," she said, laughing. "Maybe _you_ should. After all, it's you they would want to attack."

She had meant it jokingly, but he stopped dead in his tracks. "I never thought of that," he said quietly. "I'm actually endangering you by being here."

She jumped forward and grabbed his arm. "Come on, Harry," she said, tugging on him. "We're almost there now. Everything is going to be just fi - "

_"Avada Kedavra!"_

A green jet of light whizzed past her left ear so fast, that she missed death only by a few inches. Everything happened so fast then that she didn't exactly see what all transpired - all she knew was that a few seconds later, she and Harry had both drawn their wands, and were under the Invisibility Cloak after she had shouted, "Accio Cloak!" Harry's trunk was lying open in the road and hers dropped behind her. Harry's arms were wrapped around her, enveloping her in what he seemed to hope was a protective cocoon from any curses.

And then they were moving, trying to move quickly, but it was difficult under the cloak - they heard another shout begin but it was muffled quickly, as if someone had snuffed it out by clamping a hand over the others' mouth. "We want him alive!" They heard somebody hiss. "Don't shoot Killing Curses at random unless you know they are at the Mudblood!"

Hermione's breathing came in shallow gasps. How had they tracked she and Harry here? How had they known? It was impossible...

At the word 'Mudblood,' Harry stiffened and straightened up. "Harry, no," Hermione moaned, but he threw the Cloak off of himself and shouted, "Stupefy!" into the bushes, towards the voices.

The curse did not seem to hit a target, and it was dead silent for a moment.

And then, Hermione could not contain a loud, shrill scream, though it might give away her position. A figure had appeared by Harry's side, but not by Apparition. Where had it come from and how had it gotten there so quickly? It was staring at Harry.

She couldn't see the color of their eyes or even their hair color in the dusk and from her distance, but all the sudden the figure opened its mouth, and she screamed louder, throwing the Cloak off desperately, hoping and praying she had not seen what she thought she had seen.

"HARRY!"

She threw herself forward and opened her mouth to shoot a spell at the figure, but before she knew what was happening, before she had even moved a step, she heard another voice shout, "_Crucio_!" And she was in more pain than she had ever been in her life, she was sure of it, even Bellatrix's Cruciatus Curse in Malfoy Manor had been nothing, nothing compared to this, and she wanted to die, actually reached for her throat in her attempts to strangle the pain out -

She heard another inhuman roar, but was too far gone to realize who it came from. After a few more seconds that seemed like an eternity, the pain ceased, everything ceased, and she lay flat on her back, staring at the stars and breathing hard.

Lights flashed. Scuffles and yells, and then, all of the sudden, something was grasping her wrist firmly, and she felt the familiar tug of Apparition pull her away, yells fading into the distance.

She didn't land on her back or face. Someone was supporting her, and it was this that made her realize that she must have been saved by Harry. She felt his warmth leave her, but then he came back. Indeed, she was able to hear his voice after a second. "Hermione," she heard him say, his voice sounding scared. "Wake up," he moaned, and she realized that her eyes weren't open. "Hermione," he said desperately, and her eyes flew open.

He looked so white. And there was so much fear in his eyes that she actually winced away from it. He sank to the ground from where he had been perched above her, staring blankly. "I thought - I thought - " he whispered, covering his face with his hands.

"Harry," she croaked out, finally coming back to herself and their situation, and sitting up. "Harry, defensive spells - "

"Lay down," he snapped suddenly, almost violently. "I already took care of it." His sudden mood change frightened and confused her. What had she done? "Lay down!" he hissed, and immediately, she obliged, starting to feel hurt at his less than welcoming tone.

"What, Harry?" she asked. "What happened?"

"I only just got away," he said. "You had collapsed, and I was only barely able to make it to you. Our stuff, all our clothes...well, we won't be getting them back, but we should be thankful that's all we lost."

Her heart dropped. Her mirror! But where was it? They must have kept it, they wouldn't destroy it, they couldn't...and her parents! The panic was settling in now as her logic came back. How would she convince Harry to let her go back to her parents? And...

"Harry!" she exclaimed loudly, sitting up. He reached forward and pushed her back to the ground. "Harry, they have our clothes!"

"Our clothes?" he said, frowning, clearly not understanding.

"They have it..."

"What are you talking about?" he said, sounding thoroughly annoyed. "You almost died, Hermione I don't think that you really are in any state to be - "

"Almost died? Oh come on, Harry, we both almost died, don't start acting all cross with me!" she snapped, suddenly irritated at his surly demeanor.

"You were choking yourself," he spat. "Your neck is covered in bruises. You almost killed yourself."

"I - what?" she asked, momentarily distracted. "I did?"

His eyebrows contracted. "Yeah," he said, his voice suddenly wavering. "Yeah, you did. Why did you do it, Hermione? Why would you?" His eyes were full of churning emotions, and his anger had all but faded.

"No," she said instantly, trying to remember. "It hurt worse than any other Cruciatus Curse, Harry. Worse than the others, but I don't remember trying to...I mean I remember grabbing my neck but I never meant..." She was lost for words. She was very frightened now, unable to explain exactly what she had felt. Besides, there was nothing she hated more than not being able to explain something. "Something was different," she concluded. "Whoever cast it...it was different."

He frowned at her for a long time, as if trying to decide whether to believe her, and she threw her arms around him suddenly. "Oh Harry!" she cried. "I promise I didn't mean to. I don't even remember...it was so _strange_..." She was crying now, sobbing on his shirt, and she heard him draw in a long, shuddering breath.

"I'm sorry too," he said quietly. "When...when I thought you were dead..." he trailed off, but she felt him shudder.

"I'm fine," she whispered. "We're fine. Where are we, anyway?"

"Forest of Dean," he murmured into her shoulder. "Thought some tradition would do nicely."

She let out a shaky laugh, and they sat like this for a while, until he pulled back suddenly and looked at her. "What were you saying earlier about our clothes?"

At the reminder, Hermione let out a small shriek of terror. "They have our clothes! They have it..."

He stared at her. "Are you feeling all right?"

She grabbed his shirt and shook him, feeling a bit mad. "Our scent, Harry! Don't you see? Don't you realize? The figure that came up to you - the reason I took the Cloak off - I saw its fangs. Harry, it was a vampire!"

Harry stared at her very blankly for a second. "Vampires?" he asked incredulously.

"I don't know if there was more than one," Hermione muttered frantically, wringing her hands. "But I definitely saw that one."

Harry ran his fingers through his hair. "We can't go back there."

Hermione's eyes filled with tears as she looked at him. "Harry, I have to. I have to go get my parents out of here and back to England. We can go during the daytime - "

"No, Hermione, didn't you hear them? They don't care about killing you! Let me go alone. I will get them back," he said fiercely.

"You aren't going alone," she said stubbornly, and just as fiercely.

He stared at her for a few moments, his eyes glazed over in thought. "What if we Apparated directly to your parents' house? The protective spells seem to work. As soon as we get there, we can cast them, so even if they do have our - erm - scent...we will be safe."

Hermione nodded slowly. "That should work."

"I don't like it," Harry said finally, his lips pursed. Hermione decided that she didn't need to answer, but instead just lay back down on the ground. After a moment, Harry leaned over her. "How does your neck feel?" he asked, very quietly.

She touched it, surprised by how tender it felt to her. She shrugged. "Fine, I guess."

"Ron is going to freak out," he observed, still staring at her.

"Is it really that bad?" she asked self-consciously.

"It looks...gruesome," Harry admitted, tearing his eyes away. "Maybe you should get some sleep," he muttered.

"Sleep? We just woke up..." But even as she said this, she felt tired, knew she had actually been feeling exhausted for quite some time. She felt like every bone in her body had been pulverized into dust.

Harry seemed to know how she was feeling, because he eyed her. "I think that curse took a lot out of you," he said. "Just try and sleep." Hermione didn't need telling twice. Her eyes were already beginning to close of their own accord, and before she knew it, the image of Harry watching her drifted out of focus and into blackness.

It was not light when she awoke again, but she did find it strange that she was sobbing intensely, and much too loudly. Harry's arms were already wrapped around her, protectively, trying to shush her, and she had no idea what was going on. And then her dream came rushing back to her, and she remembered why she was crying, and the thought made her feel even worse and go into near hysterics.

"H-H-Harry," she said, stumbling over her words in her haste to assure him. "J-just a dream, it's nothing, just a dream..."

He did not say anything, but hugged her tighter until her sobs quieted and her breathing returned to normal. They sat still for a long time, until Hermione pulled back, wiping her eyes and not meeting Harry's. There was no reason he had to know, she told herself. She wouldn't tell him what his sacrifice in the forest still did to her, and it would only make him feel worse. "Are you all right?" she heard Harry ask, as though from far away.

"Of course," she said briskly, wiping her eyes again. "It was just a dream, Harry. It wasn't a big deal. I'm sorry to worry you." She wished her voice wouldn't shake so much.

"Don't give me that, Hermione," he said crossly. "It _was_ a big deal."

She turned to face him, her arms crossed firmly. "No, it wasn't."

She could see his eyes, though it was dark, and although they were glinting a little in the darkness, she could see they looked very soft. "You talk in your sleep, Hermione," he said gently.

Hermione felt her heart drop right into the pit of her stomach. Damn it. Stupid, traitorous sleep habits. She was almost afraid to know, but she had to ask. "What did I say?" she asked cautiously. Maybe she could convince him it was about something else.

"My name," he replied, still watching her carefully. "Ron's too."

"Is that all?" she asked, immensely relieved.

"Well...no," he said reluctantly.

"Spit it out, Harry," she said anxiously, worried as to why he didn't want to tell her.

And suddenly, she was in another bone-crushing hug from her best friend. "Why didn't you tell me, Hermione?" he asked her quietly, in her ear. "Why didn't you tell me how much it bothered you that I didn't say goodbye?"

"Harry!" she whispered, pushing away from him to look him in the face. "What on earth did I say to make you think that?"

"You were just saying Ron's name, at first," he recited, and she wondered how long she had been talking in her sleep. "You looked troubled. But then...it changed." She noticed that he shuddered a little. "You were screaming and...things. You kept saying, 'He's dead, he's dead.' And then, for a long time, you kept saying, 'Why?' Over and over. And then, you said..." He hesitated for a moment. "You said my name. And then you asked why I didn't say goodbye."

"Why didn't you?" she asked desperately, in spite of herself. She saw his face contort and was instantly sorry she asked. She flung her arms around his neck and buried her face in his shoulder. "Harry, don't feel bad! I didn't want you to feel bad!"

She heard him take a deep breath. "I didn't say goodbye because I wouldn't have been able to do it if I had seen everyone one last time. Talked to you and everything, you know. I wouldn't have been strong enough and then you would have tried to stop me..."

To this, Hermione had no answer or argument. Because she most certainly would have tried to stop him - in fact, she probably would have found a way to force him to stay - the Imperius Curse may have had its benefits. "I won't do it again," he promised her, as if knowing her fear already. "I won't do it again."

"I thought you were dead," she whispered, lips trembling, and it felt good to get the words off her chest, to somewhat explain to him finally what it had cost her to see him carried by Hagrid out of the forest and to know he had run off and sacrificed himself without saying goodbye.

"I know," he muttered, tightening his arms around her. "I'm sorry, Hermione."

She patted him on the back. "It's fine, Harry. We both made it just fine. It's just easy to forget that at night when I'm sleeping, I suppose."

He pulled back and looked at her again, seriously. "What is the mirror?"

Her heart skipped a beat, and she was caught off guard. "Wh-what?"

"You were talking about a mirror, too. About needing it back. How they have it now."

She cursed her sleeping habits even more profusely in her mind. "I don't know," she said, averting her eyes.

He was silent for a long moment. When he spoke, it was still more gentle than usual, and quiet. "What aren't you telling me, Hermione?"

His voice was so full of hurt that Hermione considered breaking Dumbledore's orders right then and there. After a long pause and a furious internal debate with herself, she just mumbled, hating herself, "Nothing, Harry. I don't know what the mirror is."

He didn't believe her, she could tell. But he let the matter rest, uncharacteristically enough, and stood up, looking around. "I think it's almost dawn," he said. "In a few hours, we can Apparate to your parents' house, directly on their doorstep. We'll have to make it quick and then get them out of here." He paused. "Do you think they can track us to England?"

She didn't need to ask who he meant by 'they.' "I still don't know how they tracked us _here_," she replied, frowning.

He ran a hand through his hair. "Well, let's just worry about getting out of here first."

* * *

a/n~ Important: THIS IS NOT A TWILIGHT CROSSOVER.

THERE ARE VAMPIRES IN THE HARRY POTTER FANDOM. SEE BOOKS ONE AND FIVE, FOR EXAMPLE. DO NOT JUMP TO TWILIGHT CONCLUSIONS AND FLIP ON ME.

That is all :) And yet, some people will probably do so anyway. Sigh...

Anyhoo, reviews would be the bomb! Thanks for reading guys! :)


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